The present invention relates to ball throwing apparatus and more particularly, to apparatus for launching a football with a spiral flight pattern.
Ball launching or throwing machines for throwing baseballs or tennis balls are well known in the art. Typically, these machines utilize a rotating arm having a cupped shape receptacle on the end adapted for receiving a ball and then for rapidly accelerating the ball on a predefined trajectory by rotating the arm at a high velocity. The ball is released from the cup by decelerating the rotating arm rapidly so that the tangential acceleration of the arm is transferred to the ball causing it to accelerate away from the machine.
Because of the unique shape of the American football, the machines commonly used for accelerating baseballs or tennis balls are not readily adaptable to throwing of a football. In particular, the shape of a football is more designed for throwing with the longitudinal axis of the football along the trajectory path and with the football having a spin in a plane normal to the path. This flight pattern is peculiar to a football due to its elongated shape with bluntly pointed ends. Although it would be desirable to provide a machine which is capable of throwing a football in this particular pattern since this pattern provides the accuracy and distance desired in launching a football, such machines have heretofore been unknown.